“Kakistocracy” is trending again.
The obscure term, coined as early as the 17th century and defined by Merriam-Webster as “government by the worst people,” has surged on Google Trends since the election.
What does government by the worst look like? To the cynical, that question may call to mind Dorothy Parker’s famous response to the news that former President Calvin Coolidge had died: “How could they tell?”
Of late, the words “kakistocracy” and “kakistocrat” have started popping up again, a return of a trend from President Donald Trump’s first administration.
My guess is that the new currency of the term has much to do with Trump’s first wave of cabinet nominees for his second administration.
For example, many were incredulous when Trump named now-retired Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican, to be attorney general, the nation’s top law enforcement officer. Gaetz subsequently withdrew his nomination amid discussion over whether the House Ethics Committee should make public the findings of its investigation of his alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
Hours after Gaetz withdrew, Trump named Pam Bondi, Florida’s former attorney general, to replace Gaetz, much to the relief of Senate Republicans, who were less than enthusiastic about having to vote to confirm a man accused (although Gaetz denies the claims) of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
Gaetz was by no means the only Trump nominee who has generated controversy.
Among others, all eyes turned to take a closer look at Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host Trump proposed to be secretary of defense. Hegseth, a veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a political conference in California. He also lacks experience at leading an organization anywhere near as huge and complex as the Defense Department.
Then there is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump has picked to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy is long known for his conspiracy theories about vaccines, COVID-19 and AIDS — and, according to the Washington Post, he has big proposals in mind to change the way Medicare pays physicians.
Trump also tapped television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz (“Dr. Oz" of TV fame) to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Not surprisingly, Oz’ nomination caused consternation among some members of Congress. Critics fear he will expand the privatization of the Medicare system, and he has appeared in advertisements for Medicare Advantage providers in the private sector. Senators are well aware of how politically sensitive any changes in Medicare policy would be. In Capitol Hill wisdom, it’s a “third rail” issue — "Touch it and you die.”
Why would the incoming president invite controversy by fiddling with popular healthcare programs? Hardly any one would accuse Trump of humility in confronting big issues, whether he shows much knowledge of what he can do.
I am reminded of his lavish promises in his first presidential administration to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, until the program turned out to be a lot more popular than he had figured. Now he promises to improve the program, although he prudently avoids getting into specifics on how he plans to do that.
Shortly before the 2024 election, Trump transition co-chairman Howard Lutnick, now tapped to be secretary of commerce, took the time to promise that Kennedy would not be put in charge of HHS. The news came as a big relief to many, while we also wait to see what other duties Trump might find for him.
I recall a similar cloak of secrecy and uncertainty that surrounded the beginning of Trump’s first term.
Speculation abounds in Washington and Silicon Valley regarding another newcomer Trump has invited into the Washington scene: the colorful Elon Musk, richest man in human history.
With roughly 200 million followers on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, Musk is a Digital Age media baron to reckon with. He’s also a major player in the space exploration and satellite communications business sectors, with sizable and highly important contracts with the U.S. government. And he’s the owner of a major car company (and the only one outside China that has figured out how to make a profit on electric vehicles).
In other words, Musk is setting off warning bells for those who worry about cronyism in government. Especially since Trump took up Musk’s idea for a yet to be formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to be charged with cutting government waste.
A lot of Americans like the sound of cutting waste in Washington, but politically it’s tricky to carry off successfully. And if, as Trump has suggested, DOGE will be run by Musk and GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, good-government advocates had better strap in for the next four years. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Page is an American journalist, syndicated columnist and senior member of the Chicago Tribune editorial board.
©2024 Tribune Content Agency. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a“ Steel Across America” event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on Sept. 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C. President Trump welcomed 9/ 11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’ s“ Steel Across America” event featuring a 16,900- pound, 21- foot steel beam recovered.
For Trump, even 9/11 is an opportunity
There was a reason organizers of the 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan told President Trump he could not speak at this year’s memorial service.
A good one, it turns out.
Because in a speech he gave on Tuesday in Washington, he did exactly what they were presumably worried about — he made it about himself.
According to The New York Times, Trump had wanted a speaking role at the service, but the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, said no, as they’ve maintained for the past decade-plus that the venue and event should be nonpartisan.
Trump has long used awful tragedies to either puff himself up, trash political opponents, or sell lies to the American people.
He blamed a deadly plane crash at Washington National Airport last year on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. He blamed Puerto Ricans for the devastation they endured after Hurricane Maria in 2017. He reportedly considered withholding disaster relief after the California wildfires based on the way affected regions voted. In an interview on Fox News meant to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, he used the occasion to slam former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…with graves of the dead behind him.
And now, as we approach the 25th anniversary of what many New Yorkers consider the darkest day in modern history, Trump has done it again.
He told a rambling, nonsensical story — one he’s told before — about going to Ground Zero just after terrorists flew two commercial jets into the twin towers. In the story, which no one has been able to verify, despite multiple attempts, he says firefighters had to carry him out of One Liberty Plaza, also known as the U.S. Steel Building, because they thought it was about to collapse.
As CNN fact checker Daniel Dale notes, there’s no evidence Trump went into this building, especially at a time when NYPD and NYFD had locked down the area. There’s no evidence that building was collapsing — in fact, it was deemed structurally sound and reopened within two months of the attacks. There’s no evidence he was carried out of it by firefighters.
But the lie isn’t even the worst part. Pretend it was all true — why would the leader of our country, and a New Yorker, decide to make that tragic day about himself?
Because that’s who Donald Trump is. He’s a malignant narcissist.
He’s also, incidentally, a terrible and ineffectual president, who’s made ill-fated decisions that he has to keep defending, and there’s nothing he won’t do to make himself look and feel better.
Within the first two minutes of his speech, he was cravenly using 9/11 to justify and promote his dumb war in Iran — two events separated by 25 years and 6,000 miles.
“And I will tell you, we’re right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon, they were very close to getting it, and now they have no chance at getting it. They will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve been punished greatly. As you know, we’ve really taken it to them.”
As a New Yorker who lived through 9/11, still one of the worst days of my life, I’m utterly sickened by Trump’s crass, political, and self-promotional framing of that awful day.
And I’m relieved he won’t be given a platform to do it again on Friday’s anniversary in lower Manhattan.
Because for Trump, everything is his for the taking, and absolutely nothing is sacred.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.